Folding rocking camp chair



June 14, 1955 R. F. FAUSER 2,710,642

FOLDING ROCKING CAMP CHAIR Filed Aug. 5, 1952 FlG.4

INVENTOR. R/cHA R0 E54 (4.95)?

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent FULDING ROCKING CAMP CHAIR Richard F. Fauser, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to Wood & Brooks Company, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 5, 1952, Serial No. 302,650

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-56) have had the disadvantage of discomfort at the forward end of the seat where the forward cross slat thereof bears on the under portion of the leg of the user. This cross slat is a structural member and has therefore been rigidly mounted between the side rails of the seat frame,

and as a consequence thereof has been arranged at an E angle whereby a leg bearing surface is presented which is not always in conformity with the natural position of the user.

This invention provides an improvement in the aforementioned type of chair whereby the front slat automatically conforms to the contours of the legs of the user without multiplying the parts of the structure or impairing the sturdiness or the ready foldability thereof. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a folding camp chair as aforesaid with a front seat slat arrangement of improved and more comfortable design.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chair as aforesaid which is sturdy in construction and simple in design. v

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved folding camp chair having a front seat slat which cooperates with other elements of the chair to automatically afford a balanced leg pressure at the front and rear edges thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved chair as aforesaid which has a front seat slat which affords full and free adjustability to conform to the legs of the user.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved camp chair as aforesaid in which the front seat slat assumes the proper angle for maximum comfort when in use and automatically cooperates with other elements of the chair to assume a preferred position between the seat rails for compact folding of the chair.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and claims, and from the drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a front end elevation of an improved chair of the invention, set up for use;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side view similar to Fig. 2 with the chair parts swung to a more rearward position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken about on line IV-IV of Fig. 1, showing the adjustable slat of the invention in one position;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the slat in another position;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side view of the chair in folded position; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about on line VII-VII of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, a chair constituting a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The chair includes a back frame 10 and a seat frame 12 which are interconnected in crossed arrangement by upper and lower pairs of links 14, 16. As shown, the back frame 10 comprises side rails 18 interconnected by an upper or rear cross slat 20 and a lower or forward cross slat 22, which are securely mounted on the side rails 18 as by rivets or the like to complete the back frame structure.

The seat frame 12 also has side rails 24 which are interconnected by a rigidly mounted lower or rear cross slat 26 and a pivotally mounted upper or forward cross slat 28 of the invention, which will be described more fully hereinafter. The upper and lower links 14, 16 are pivotally connected to the side rails 18, 24 of the respective back and seat frame structures by means of rivets 30, 32 or the like, and thus it will be seen that the back and seat frame structures are thereby assembled in stable relationship but capable of rocking movements. Thus, as viewed in the drawing for example, as the chair, is rocked backwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3 the upper links 14 will be displaced in a clockwise manner and the lower links 16 in a smaller counter-clockwise movement, and vice versa, so that the chair may be rocked back and forth or disposed at rest at a preferred angle, according to the desire of the user.

When it is desired to fold the chair for carrying or storing the same, the seat frame 12 may be brought upwardly toward the back frame 10 so that the links 14, 16 rotate clockwise and counterclockwise respectively as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 into substantial alignment with the side rails, whereby the back and seat frames 10, 12 will be folded together with the upper cross slats 20, 28 in face-to-face contiguity, as shown in Fig. 6.

The chair is completed by a canvas or other pliable sheet-form seat portion 34 which forms the seat and back rest of the chair and is anchored at its upper end on the upper back frame cross slat 20, as by being looped and sewn thereabout, for example. This seat member 34 is attached at its lower end to the tiltable forward seat slat 28 "in like manner, and is of a length providing suflicient droop between the slats 20, 28 for comfort.

The tiltable cross slat 28 is preferably mounted between the opposing sides of the side rails 24 by means of pivots 36 which in this example are mounted by the opposite ends of the slat 2S and journalled in holes in the side rails 24, heads 37 on the pivots securing the slat 28 to the rails 24 as the front structural member of the seat frame 12. If desired, washers 38 or the like may be interposed between the opposite ends of the slat 28 and the respective side rails 24 on the pivots 36 to impart structural rigidity to the seat frame while maintaining free tiltability of the slat 28. it is a feature of the invention that the pivotal axis defined by the pivots 36 is located intermediate of the front and rear edges of the slat 28, preferably in the rear half thereof. There is thus provided a lever arm 39 between the pivot point 36 and the forward edge 40 of the front seat slat, and a shorter lever arm 42 between the pivot point 36 and the rear edge 44 of the front seat slat. Thus, it will be appreciated that this eccentric placement of the pivotal axis will provide a mechanical advantage whereby upward pressure at the front edge 40 of the slat, resulting from the tension in the canvas member 34 and the pressure of the legs of the user at the rear edge 44 of the slat, will be reduced to a value which will give comfortable yielding support to the under portion of the legs of the user adjacent the front edge 40. The ideal placement of the pivot point 36 will vary somewhat with the chair design and particularly with the angle at which the forward suspended portion of the seat member 34 is drooped. However, it has been determined that for a chair of the type shown in the drawing that the ratio of the distances 39 to 42 should be about 3 to 1.

In use, the chair of the invention is set up as shown in Fig. 2 and when the user rocks somewhat forward as shown in that figure and places his feet on the ground, the pressure of his legs will deflect the front seat slat 28 to an approximately horizontal position as shown Whereby the under portions of his legs will be comfortably supported in conformity with their natural position. When the user supports his legs in an elevated position or rocks rearwardly as shown in Fig. 3 with less pressure on the forward edge 40 being exerted by his legs, the adjustable slat 23 will automatically assume a position nearly tangent to the canvas seat portion 34 and in general alignment with the seat side rails 24 so as to prevent uncomfortable pressure at the rear edge 44 of the slat.

It will be appreciated that as the chair is folded for storage, a front seat slat rigidly fixed for average conditions at an angle as shown in Fig. 2 would interfere with close folding of the front end of the seat frame 12 and the top end of the back frame 10. However, it is another feature of the invention that since the slat 28 is freely pivotally mounted, it will automatically align itself with the upper or rear back frame cross slat 20 as the two come into bearing relationship in the folding operation. It will be appreciated that the present invention provides a chair of improved comfort without sacrificing simplicity and without the employment of expensive fittings or the like. The pivot mounts of the tiltable front seat slat of the invention are simple and sturdy, the automatic pressure balancing function of the invention being carried out by proper correlation between the turning moment arms effective about the pivot of the tiltable slat. The slat is given full freedom to respond to these forces as well as to adjust itself in the chair folding operation, and the preferred mount thereof between the opposing faces of the seat rails lends rigidity to the structure.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A camp rocking chair comprising a seat'frame and a back frame interconnected in crossed arrangement by upper and lower pairs of pivoted links, each said frame comprising a pair of side rails and cross slats interconnecting the same, pivot means extending from the ends of one of said slats approximately one fourth of the width thereof from the rear edge thereof, said pivot means being journaled .in the side .rails of said seat frame to mount the slat therebetween in freely tiltable relation thereto to form the front end of said seat frame, and a flexible sheet-form seat portion attached at one end to the tiltable slat and at the other end to one of said slats of said back frame.

2. A camp rocking chair comprising a seat frame and a back frame interconnected in crossed arrangement by upper and lower pairs of pivoted links, each said frame comprising a pair of side rails and cross slats interconnecting the same, pivot means extending from the ends of one of said slats, said pivot means being journaled in the side rails of said seat frame to mount the slat therebetween in freely tiltable relation thereto to form the front end of said seat frame, the pivotal axis of said pivot means being located to provide a first lever arm between said pivotal axis and the front edge of the tiltable slat and an opposing lever arm between said pivotal axis and the rear edge of said tiltable slat, said first lever arm being greater than said opposing lever arm, and a flexible sheet-form seat portion attached at one end to said tiltable slat and at the other end to one of said slats of said back frame.

3. A camp rocking chair comprising a seat frame and a back frame interconnected in crossed arrangement by upper and lower pairs of pivoted links, each said frame comprising a pair of side rails and cross members interconnecting the same, one of said members being a cross slat forming the front end of said seat frame, cooperating pivot means on the ends of said slat and on the side rails of said seat frame arranged to mount the slat between the rails in freely tiltable relation thereto, the pivotal axis of said pivot means being located to provide a first lever arm between said pivotal axis and the front edge of said slat and an opposing lever arm between said pivotal axis and the rear edge of said slat, said first lever arm being greater than said opposing lever arm, and a flexible sheet-form seat portion attached at one end to said slat and at the other end to one of said cross members of said back frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

